WHO to launch maternal health intervention project in Kenya

NAIROBI -- The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) will launch a comprehensive child and maternal project in Kenya's six counties with the highest burden of maternal and child deaths, it said on Tuesday.

WHO Kenya Country Director Custodia Mandlhate told Xinhua the six counties are among the 15 counties that account for 90 percent of all Kenya's child and maternal deaths.

"The 18-month project will cost 15 million U.S. dollars and will be funded by the UN Reproductive Maternal Newborn Children Health Trust Fund," Mandlhate said on the sidelines of a workshop on the Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV held in Nairobi.

The three-day event brought over 200 delegates to review Kenya's efforts towards eliminating new HIV infections among children.

Mandlhate said the WHO will be meeting with the beneficiary county governments next week to plan the implementation for the interventions.

She said all the UN agencies in Kenya, including UN child Fund, UNAIDS, UN Women, along with the World Bank will collaborate in the implementation of the health project.

The project will also help in the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV (eMTCT), she added.

The UN official said Kenya has made tremendous progress towards the eMTCT through the implementation of the guidelines on the use of Anti-Retroviral Therapy for all HIV infected pregnant and breastfeeding women.

"However, in order to reduce new HIV infections in Kenya, the country should consider decentralization of the Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission package of service," she said, adding this includes life-long ART for HIV positive pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health James Macharia said Kenya has committed to ensure that it identifies 90 percent of all HIV- positive pregnant women, and 88 percent of this target had been achieved at the end of last year.

The international community has set a global target date of the end of 2015 for the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV.